Aim: How should we remember the Age of Absolutism? Date: _____________

Do Now: Should a monarch ever have complete power? Why or why not? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I What was the Age of Absolutism?

A) European monarchs in the 16th and 17th centuries sought to have ________________, or unlimited power.

B) Absolute monarchs claimed _______________________: that they received their power directly from god.

C) Supporters of absolute monarchs believed it is important to have great control and efficiency over one’s government.

II Absolute Monarchs Showed Their Power

Spain England Holland and Belgium (mostly Protestant)

wanted independence from Catholic Spain. In retaliation for England helping Holland, a fleet of war ships (the __________________________) sailed from Spain to England in July 1588 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I.

Queen ___________________ defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. This led to England having the strongest navy in the world! It also allowed England to make more colonies in the New World (including the American colonies).

In 1642 King Charles I refused to allow the British Parliament (law making body) to meet for 11 years! Recall that this went against the Magna Carta (written in 1215) which had limited the rights of Kings. His actions led to the _____________________________.

France Russia 1667 – 1713 _________________ went to

war with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain over border disputes, as well as his demand for his grandson to become the next king of Spain. The wars ended 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht. Louis’ grandson would become the king of Spain, but France and Spain agreed to never unite under one government – to help maintain their _____________________ (the right to self rule)

In 1547 Ivan the Terrible proclaimed himself ________ (after Julius Caesar). He conquered Mongol land, expanding Russian territory. He created the Oprichniki, the first official secret Russian police force (who rode on black horses and dressed all in black).

_________________________ built “his” city of St. Petersburg to be Russia’s “Window on the West”. It was designed to imitate the city of Amsterdam.

___________________________ conquered Poland and divided it up with Prussia (eastern Germany). She defeated the Ottoman Turks for access to the Black Sea, so now Russia had a warm water port allowing for a year round navy!

III Absolute Monarchs And Money

Spain England France Russia

King Philip II built his palace El Escorial (1563 – 1584).

In November 1640,

Charles I was forced into

bringing back

Parliament; they were

the only ones who had

the power to finance a

war! (He wanted to go

to war with the Scots)

Louis XIV built his palace at ________________ near Paris. It was so expensive that it drained the French economy.

Ivan the Terrible built St. Basil’s Cathedral (a Russian Orthodox Church) in Moscow.

Catherine the Great built her palace modeled on Versailles, but grander!

IV Absolute Monarchs Forced Reforms

England France Russia

Unlike her father Henry VIII (who founded the Anglican Church), Elizabeth I allowed for some tolerance of Catholics.

Louis XIV revoked the Treaty of Nantes, which had granted religious freedom to Protestants. As a result, almost 1,000,000 ________________________ (French Protestants) fled France.

1697 Peter the Great traveled to Western Europe to “borrow” ideas that would advance Russian society. He built Russia’s first navy, and schools specializing in math, engineering, medicine and science. He forced boyars (Russian nobles) to cut their beards in the style of Western Europe.

Catherine the Great transformed ______________________________ it into a center of arts, science and culture. She encouraged the boyars to speak French and adopt French culture. In return, she gave the boyars more control over their serfs. (Recall that at this time, serfdom was mostly a thing of the past in Western Europe!)

Key Vocabulary

Absolute monarch

Boyars

Catherine the Great

Charles I

Czar

Divine Right

El Escorial

Elizabeth I

English Civil War

Ivan the Terrible

Louis XIV “The Sun King”

Peter the Great

Philip II

Spanish Armada

Sovereignty

St. Basil’s Cathedral

St. Petersburg

Treaty of Utrecht

Versailles

Summary Questions

1. Fill in the Venn Diagram below comparing and contrasting absolutism in England, Spain, France, and Russia.

2. Which absolute monarch do you believe abused their power the most? Explain.

3. Which absolute monarch do you believe used their power in a positive way? Explain.

BONUS QUESTION: Do you think an absolute monarchy would be a good type of government today? Why or why not?